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The Point of Hindsight

One of the reasons I dislike the news isn’t because I don’t like being informed — it’s because I have a low tolerance for, well, stupidity.

It seems like every time I turn around, something else is being legislated, new rules are put in place, more restrictions are imposed because people shirk their duties as human beings — human beings who, by virtue of having one in the first place, need to use their brains more. People like to point to hindsight as being the driving force for these laws and regulations, but I like to point to a lack of accountability.

Hindsight tells me that if I cause an accident, I need to be more cautious and less distracted. It shouldn’t say, for example, that backup cameras on all vehicles are the solution.

Hindsight whispers in my ear that it doesn’t want more red tape — it wants people to use their brains. It is pleading for the return of common sense. It is desperate for thinking before speaking, for careful consideration before action and for planning instead of whim-ing.

While it appreciates being the subject of an often used phrase, it doesn’t like that we think it’s 20/20. It sometimes wishes it were fuzzier and crappier, because then maybe we’d think more.

Think first.

From a young age, we learned to color inside the lines. When we got older, we learned to stay within the lanes while driving. These days, I don’t think people go sideways because there aren’t enough rules; I think they go sideways simply because they can — because they want to make a statement, because they want their 15 minutes of fame, because they have a point to prove, or because they think people will take notice.

All I notice is how ridiculous the world is becoming.

Tonight, I am thankful for the thinkers, the deliberators, the careful planners and the accountable ones. I just wish there were more of them.